A Tropical Nightmare
by Lingren
Summary: A covert mission to rescue a kidnapped SGC scientist leads to a near tragedy. Recovery and guilt.
1. Chapter 1

_Here as promised is another story for you to enjoy._

A Tropical Nightmare.

By Lingren.

Category: Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance.

Pairings: Sam/Jack.

Season: 7.

Spoilers: Chain Reaction, Meridian.

Summary: A covert mission to rescue an abducted SGC scientist goes wrong.

Author's Notes: Santa Christiana is a totally fictitious island. Any coincidences to real life are purely that.

A TROPICAL NIGHTMARE.

by Lingren.

To most of the inhabitants of the tiny Caribbean island state of Santa Christiana, it was a night like any other, but to the rebel faction it was a night for celebration. Their planned revolution against the oppressive government had taken a significant step forward.

The stars were at their brightest, shining high above the tropic of Cancer on which the little republic sat. Cuba, its nearest neighbour sat a few miles to the south, looming like a dark monster on the horizon. The night within the tropical rainforest was sultry and humid, and dark. The rebels were camped in a clearing deep inside the fetid region where few humans dared to venture. They were confident of their safety there, hidden from prying eyes that would turn them over to the government for a reasonable price. Now the Camp Commander emerged from his tent and confronted the group who had just entered the camp, greeting the returning troops like long lost sons.

"Hey Miguel. I see you have brought our guest at last. What took you so long?" he asked with a wry grin.

"We had to wait until the right moment."

"Well he is here at last," he gloated, looking over the profusely sweating man, his beige pants grubby and stained, the once white shirt, now grey and torn, and clinging to his damp body. His hands were tied behind his back, and Luis could see the exhaustion clearly lining his overheated face.

As the prisoner realised this was his final destination, he sank to his knees and stayed there, unable and unwilling to move another step. Luis ignored him and turned his attention back to Miguel.

"What about the ore?"

Miguel pulled a cover from the back of the mule, revealing a strong leather bag and hefted it to the ground. It was heavy, much heavier than he'd imagined it to be. Unfastening the bag, he pulled out a small chunk of silvery metal, and tossed it over to Luis Mendoza. The Commander caught it, but hadn't calculated for it's extraordinary weight, and it fell through his fingers to the ground making him curse. He bent over and picked it up, feeling the density of the ore, and a huge grin snaked across his face as he held it high for everyone to see.

"This Amigos...this, is the answers to our prayers. With our friend here, we can overthrow the government in no time. No one shall be able to resist us now," his voice grew louder in the stillness, until he was yelling. "We will be invincible!" A rousing cheer rang round the camp and the party began.

Luis then tossed it back to Miguel, and snapped his fingers for his men to remove the prisoner to a tent, where he would stay until his job was done.

They took the trembling man to his temporary home and handcuffed him to a ring set into a huge slab of concrete buried deep into the ground. He fell onto the cot and lay there exhausted. He didn't expect to sleep, the strangeness of his surroundings; the thoughts of his family and friends back home, along with the impossible situation he now found himself in; and the volume of unrecognised jungle noises, all transpired to keep him awake. But the sheer weight of tiredness overcame him and he fell into a deep and troubled sleep.

OoOoOoOoO

Major Sam Carter entered the lab and flipped the switches to bring light to her working domain, and life to her computer. She hung her jacket on the hook provided and donned the white lab coat that was slung over the back of her chair before drawing yesterday's samples from the safe. It was then she noticed that all of the Naquadah stored there previously was missing. She went through everything in her mind and remembered clearly that Paul Cruz had been the last one to test the newest shipment of the weapon's grade metal ore. And another thing, she noted, glancing at the clock on the wall; where was Paul? It wasn't like him to be late. Putting two and two together, she really didn't like the answer she was getting, and tried to quash the feeling that something wasn't right. Perhaps he had come in early and taken it down to the storage facility; maybe, but then...

Sam, shook herself sternly, Paul would never do anything without telling her first, but if he had come in before her, he'd probably fill her in later. She booted up the computer and browsed through the waiting e-mails, deleting the spam; then reading through and saving the necessary ones. There was actually one from Paul, and she opened it with a puzzled frown across her brow. It was dated yesterday and was sent late last night.

_Sam, I haven't got time to explain everything, but I'm in deep trouble. Help me please. Keep my family safe. I had to take the Naquadah, I had no choice and now they're coming for me. I sent Maria and the children over to Lizzie's house, I didn't know where else to send them. I gotta go, they're breaking down the door... Santa Christiana... help me! Paul._

Sam read the note with growing disbelief, she printed a copy and took it straight to General Hammond's office.

OoOoOoOoO

Colonel Jack O'Neill was hiding his frustration from his CO as best he could, but the Senior Officer knew it was going to be difficult to keep the Colonel busy when all his team were stuck inside the mountain working on various projects. Jack wanted to be out there among the stars. That was the real work...off world, kicking Goa'uld butts as he would say, and saving countless lives in the process. He absolutely hated all this sitting around on the base. It wasn't as if he could do anything other than paperwork, Daniel had his artefacts to study, translations to write out, and Carter had her experiments, then there was Teal'c, his skills were always in demand, while he, Jack O'Neill, had nothing to offer except experience. Now the General had reminded him he still had some reports outstanding, and needed to catch up with them before the month was out. General Hammond dismissed him, and when Jack opened the office door, he suddenly found himself with an armful of Major Carter.

Any other time and place and he would have enjoyed holding her captive in his arms and kiss her senseless, but this was neither the time and definitely not the place for such intimacy.

"Sorry Sir. I didn't see you there," Sam apologised, hurriedly extricating herself from Jack's embarrassing embrace.

"Ya think?" he sighed, feeling a little flushed. "What's the rush Carter?"

"General Sir," she blushed and pulled herself from O'Neill's arms and straightening herself up without answering his question, trying hard to avoid his eyes. Those piercing deep brown orbs that always made her feel he could see right into her very soul, and make her heart flip at the merest glance. She handed the piece of A4 paper over to the balding officer, sitting slightly amused behind the desk.

Hammond read the note through several times, before handing it out to a very curious Jack.

"What do you make of that Colonel?"

Jack took the note and read it through, digesting it slowly. This was something that he knew needed to be dealt with by themselves. They couldn't let the Police handle it, not when it concerned a top secret substance like Naquadah.

"I think we ought to go find out what the hell's going on Sir."

"So do I. Major, Colonel, find out what you can on this. I'll try to keep a lid on things this end, but we must recover both Dr. Cruz and the missing Naquadah. I needn't tell you that this is unofficial business as far as the Government is concerned."

"Yes Sir."

"Good luck people, and go careful out there, we don't know where this might lead yet."

TBC

_Sorry it's only a short chapter to begin the story. Longer ones are coming, but it's not a very long story anyway as I won't be posting for a while after this is finished because I have company coming to stay and I'll be tied up with entertaining them. Back in August though with a new story._


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to those of you who reviewed. I always appreciate your comments._

A Tropical Nightmare.

By Lingren.

_Previously: _

"So do I. Major, Colonel, find out what you can on this. I'll try to keep a lid on things this end, but we must recover both Dr. Cruz and the missing Naquadah. I needn't tell you that this is unofficial business as far as the Government is concerned."

"Yes Sir."

"Good luck people, and go careful out there, we don't know where this might lead yet."

Chapter 2

Jack was getting his wish at last. Action was something which he had been craving, and now it was actually happening he felt a lot happier, plus it gave him the added bonus of getting out of doing his paperwork. They took off in Jack's truck and found the Cruz's house in a very nice suburb of Springs. As they made their way towards the house, Jack could feel the neighbour's eyes boring into the back of his head, and just knew the little old lady across the road was peering at them from behind her lace curtain. When he was getting out of the truck he'd caught a glimpse of her just before she dropped the curtain back in place, only to take another peep now. He whispered to Sam about checking out the neighbour afterwards, perhaps if she was that nosy she may have witnessed something unusual.

Sam fumbled with the lock and in no time at all she was opening the door. Jack smiled down at her and she shrugged.

"All part of the service Sir," she grinned back.

"I'm not gonna ask about what that implies Carter."

Sam snorted with amusement, especially when he added a passing comment.

"You can pick my lock any day," he murmured, making her almost whimper with longing, but she couldn't look at him for fear of giving too much away. They looked around at the mess in the room.

Sam's heart-felt retort remained unsaid, as she also took in the state of the place. Papers were scattered over the floor, a half eaten meal was still sitting on the table and abandoned in a great hurry by the look of it. Sam filtered thought the papers on the floor, but found nothing to tie in with the mystery. There was no incriminating evidence, and no clues as to the whereabouts of Paul Cruz or what had happened to him. Jack meanwhile took a look out the back and Sam looked upstairs. Still nothing.

Jack saw that the back door had been kicked in, and the broken shards of glass held a small clue. A drop of someone's blood, but who's? Was it Paul's or his abductor's? He carefully placed it in a plastic bag and dropped it into Sam's brief case. The computer in the study was still switched on, and Sam ran through all the files she could access. Yet, still nothing pointed to why or where or who.

"There's nothing here Sir. Either Paul, had nothing to hide, or he has it well hidden, or whoever took him, already has all the information necessary. It's difficult to find something when you don't actually know what it is you're looking for."

"Yeah, that would help, but obviously there's nothin' here. Let's check out the old lady across the street. My guess is she'll know somethin' about what happened here. If she's anything like my grandma she wouldn't miss a thing," he stated, grinning wryly, making Sam smile too.

Jack never spoke about his family and Sam filed that little tidbit of information away in her memory, wondering if his grandma was still alive or not. Knowing he had a real family out there seemed to make him more human somehow; more normal. Not that he wasn't normal; just detached in his own way from everyone.

They crossed over the road and Jack rapped quickly on the door, which opened almost immediately. A shrivelled old lady stood back from the door to allow them in. Jack hesitated, and she gave him an old fashioned look.

"You're military people, and I know Paul worked for the military, so I knew it would only be a matter of time before someone showed up to look for him. Come on in folks. I don't bite!"

"How do you know we're military and that we're looking for Dr. Cruz," Jack asked, removing his sun glasses to look at the woman standing in the shadows of the house, before making a move to enter.

"I can spot a military man a mile away, and you screamed Military to me."

"Guilty as accused," he said, flashing his ID and gave her a devastating smile. "Colonel Jack O'Neill, USAF, and this is Major Sam Carter."

"Martha Mallory." she replied, introduced herself, and shaking them both by the hand. "My late husband was in the Army. General Timothy Mallory he was when he retired. Come on in dears," she reiterated. "The coffee's on. Sit down and I'll tell you what I know."

Jack gave Sam a glance wondering where this woman was leading them, hopefully not straight down the garden path. They both sat down on the sofa, the only seat available other than the one which Mrs Mallory had sat down in, and they didn't like the look the fat cat, sitting curled in the only other chair in the room, was giving them. The settee turned out to be a very small one, obviously not made with two tall Air Force Officers in mind, and they couldn't escape the feel of each other as they were squashed together. They both shifted slightly to get comfortable, though neither of them felt any better. Mrs Mallory gave a satisfied smile.

"That's right get comfy dears. Now let's get down to it shall we," she bent forward in a conspiratorial manner and dropped her voice to a mere whisper. " It was late," she began, "well, actually it was dead on 23:13hrs, because I looked at the clock wondering why Maria was taking the kids out so late. They don't normally do that kind of thing ya know. They're such a quiet family, and the kids are okay if you know what I mean...well behaved. Not like a lot of the kids these days. They lack the discipline if you ask me. A good stint in the army is what they need..."

Jack coughed and cast a sideways glance at Sam who ignored him, concentrating instead on what Mrs. Mallory was telling them; hoping she'd get back to the necessary details anytime soon.

"Well," she continued, not missing the soft cough of frustration from Jack. "I saw her rushing around, trying to pile the kids and as much as she could of their things, into the car, then she took off in a tearing hurry. I can't tell you where they went, but my guess is they went to Lizzie's. She's the only real friend that Maria would trust in a crisis."

Sam took a quick peek at Jack to see if he recalled that this was where Paul had said they'd gone, in his note. If the Colonel did register it, he never gave any indication that he'd remembered.

"Soooo...Do you know where this 'Lizzie' lives?" Jack asked.

"Sure I do. Why shouldn't I? She is my daughter ya know."

"Ah... " Jack sighed, feeling bested as if he were a wayward child in her eyes. "Then I guess that would be a good enough reason for knowing her then."

"What about Paul? What happened to him?" Sam asked, impatient to know what went on last night, and to stop her CO from adding an untimely comment.

"Well, around 23:50hrs, I heard a car pull up. I don't sleep too well these days, and the slightest sound wakes me up. Takes me an absolute age to get back to sleep again. Anyway, I was still awake when I heard a noise, so I took a quick peek from my window. I thought perhaps it was Maria come home again but instead I saw three people, strangers, get out of the car. There was a fourth, a man, but he stayed behind the wheel. Two of them were men and one of them had long black hair tied back into a ponytail, and at first I believed it was a woman, then they turned round slightly and I realised it was a man..."

"How do you know that?" Jack interrupted. "These days they all look alike. How can you be sure it wasn't a woman? It would have been very dark at that time of night."

"Well gee...I guess the beard kinda gave it away," she sighed tersely, wishing that the Colonel wouldn't keep interrupting her flow and doubting her every word.

Sam sniggered and Jack just glared sideways at her, silencing her, so they could continue.

"Sooo..." he continued, ignoring the retort. "They were all men?"

"I believe I just said that."

Jack sighed, he'd never come across such a spirited and sarcastic old lady before, she was worse than his grandma and could give him as good as he could dish out on any given day.

"What happened next?" Sam urged.

"Well they walked up to the door and banged on it, but Paul didn't answer, so then two of them disappeared around the back of the house. Some minutes later they brought Paul out, holding onto him between them. He didn't look hurt or anything, but that doesn't mean to say they haven't already harmed him now."

"Were they carrying anything?" Sam continued to ply her with questions.

"Oh yes. Apart from their guns, they were hauling a sports bag along. It looked very heavy. It took two of them to carry it. Oh...and another thing; they were all Hispanic."

"How do you...? ...no wait, don't tell me, you heard them speaking Spanish. Right?"

"Of course. You know for a Colonel, you're very sardonic. I don't think I've ever met anyone quite as bad as you; except for my husband of course." Yes, her Tim would have gotten on well with this man, she mused, she was beginning to like this Colonel Jack O'Neill. Looking him over critically, she fleetingly wished for once that she was young again.

Jack swallowed the breath he'd just taken, choking over it.

"Why thank you Ma'am," he spluttered when he'd recovered his breath again. "Takes one to know one." He liked this woman, she reminded him of his grandma Bertha, the scourge of Minnesota.

Mrs Mallory let out a loud squawk of laughter and poured the coffee out, she was enjoying this verbal sparring. It had been a long time since she'd had anyone like him around to butt heads with.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to all of you who did review...Please R & R guys. I'm starving out here_!

A Tropical Nightmare.

By Lingren.

_Previously: _

Mrs Mallory let out a loud squawk of laughter and poured the coffee out, she was enjoying this verbal sparring. It had been a long time since she'd had anyone like him around to butt heads with.

Chapter 3

By the time Jack and Sam had returned to the SGC, it was well into the afternoon. They'd had a hard time extricating themselves from Mrs. Mallory's hospitality. She given them lots to think about and now all they had to do was to puzzle out where it would lead them. A couple of officers from welfare had been sent over to talk with Lizzie and Maria. Sam delivered the blood sample to the lab for analysis, and Jack went to see how Teal'c had been getting on. He'd been using the computer in Jack's office for privacy, while he delved into secret files, searching for any clues.

"So what have we got so far?" Jack asked, trying to make sense of the information jostling about in his brain.

"We know that Paul managed to send his family away before these men showed up. They abducted him and took the Naquadah with them, but as yet we don't know where they've taken him; why they've taken him; or how they knew about the Naquadah. They could be anywhere," Sam stated, as she joined them.

"Well, we do know they were Hispanic, and one of them had long black hair tied back in a pony tail..." How could he forget that description? But before he could continue, Sam interrupted him.

"And he had a beard," Sam was quick to point out, giggling.

Jack frowned at her, he just knew she wasn't going to let that one drop any time soon.

Teal'c arched an eyebrow, but thought better about asking what the joke was. Tau'ri humour was still a little strange to him even after all these years of living among them.

Jack buried his head back in the original note and kept reading it through. Now, being brought up like a good Irish Catholic, he thought he knew most of the hundreds of saints that people cried out to for help, but this Santa Christiana, was a new one on him. He frowned, trying to wrack his brain, the name seemed familiar somehow.

"What is puzzling you O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, seeing his wrinkled brow deepen.

"It's this Santa Christiana bit. It seems familiar. I should know this but I can't recall what she was the saint for."

"I also do not know what she was patron saint of, but I did look up the country on a map of your world. It is a small island republic in the Caribbean Sea, and ruled by a President Ramirez. There is much unrest among its people, and some talk of a planned revolution. A Luis Mendoza is reported to be the head of the rebel forces and is said to be planning a spectacular end to the government."

Teal'c punched up the news channel on the computer, where the reports of the growing revolution were clear for all to read. They had a picture of Mendoza and his second in command, Miguel Sanchez. Jack looked up from reading over Teal'c's shoulder, and looked straight at Sam.

"Long dark hair..." he began, allowing Sam to finish his sentence for him.

"Tied back in a ponytail, with a beard."

"I knew I'd heard that Santa Christiana name somewhere," Jack crowed with triumph. "Well done Teal'c. That must be where they've taken Paul. It was a clue. It wasn't a saint he was praying to, it was the place he was being taken to."

"You think that he's going to be forced into making them a Naquadah bomb to blow up their government?" Sam asked incredulously. "That much Naquadah will take out the whole island."

"I know that, but I bet this Luis Mendoza doesn't," Jack stated, "No matter what Paul says, he'll probably be forced into putting that bomb together. They just don't know what they're playing with. We have to stop them, and get the Naquadah and Paul back." Jack ran from the room, Sam hot on his heels with Teal'c trailing behind her, pleased that they had now solved at least part of the mystery. Now the real work could begin, but it was a race against the clock. He knew that hundreds of innocent lives were at stake here, just because of the lust for power of one man and a few of his fanatical followers.

OoOoOoOoO

General Hammond chewed over the news thoughtfully, before he answered the three eager people standing before him.

"Colonel, you know as well as I do, that the US Government cannot interfere in the politics of an Independent country without a formal request. US citizens are not exactly welcome in that country, and at the moment we have no official resident ambassador there to represent us. The diplomatic ties with Santa Christiana were severed some years ago. The President isn't about to sanction a team to go in there with guns blazing just to extricate one of it's own citizens. Dr. Cruz has family on the island and the repercussions could be devastating for them." He stopped to let the implications sink in, and wasn't surprised when Jack protested.

"Sir. We can't leave them to use that Naquadah, or the repercussions will be even greater..."

Hammond held up a hand to silence him.

"Jack, I realise that we need to get Dr. Cruz back and more importantly we do need to retrieve the Naquadah from them before they blow the whole place sky high. The resulting explosion would have devastating effects on the environment around the area, and not just for the island itself. It would cause a Tidal Wave so great that it would wipe out all the neighbouring islands and the cities along the gulf coast too, including Florida."

Jack had been about to point that out to the General, but now he knew that Hammond had already realised exactly what would happen, he kept his tongue.

"So what are we going to do Sir? We can't sit back and ignore the problem or leave the Naquadah in the rebel's hands, let alone Dr. Cruz for that matter. He could talk and blow this whole Stargate secret open to the world," Sam asked, concern for her colleague as well as everyone that would be affected.

"Agreed Jack, that's why you and a team are going in there. BUT... it will have to be a covert operation. No one here must know about it. There would be merry hell to pay if this got back to the Press, that one of our top scientists had been abducted along with a certain amount of a new mineral that has that much potential. I'll make all the arrangements. I can still pull a few strings. I don't want any identifying labels, etc., and let me have your dog tags. We don't want anything to give them a clue as to who you are if anything should go wrong."

"Understood Sir." He and Sam took off their dog tags and handed them over.

Hammond looked up at Teal'c, and really hated what he was about to say.

"I'm sorry Teal'c, but you'll have to sit this one out. We can't risk you getting captured by the rebels or even the Government on Santa Christiana."

Jack reluctantly agreed, if Teal'c should get captured by the rebels, the whole of Stargate Command's secrecy could be blown wide apart, but the mission needed more than two of them.

"Sir...?"

"Take Dr. Jackson, and Ferretti, Morgan and Andrews. I believe those members of SG-2 are in the commissary about now."

"Yes Sir."

"I'll get you to Hurlburt Field AFB, it'll be the nearest base. You'll leave as soon as I can arrange transport.

"Yes Sir," Jack snapped out heartily, saluting his Senior Officer.

"Oh and one more thing. Go careful out there."

"Oh...you know us Sir."

"That's what I'm afraid of Jack. I do know you...too well."

"We'll be back before you know it Sir," Jack grinned, hurrying from the room as soon as the General had dismissed them.

OoOoOoOoO

Dressed from head to toe in unidentifiable black outfits, their faces blackened against the night, the small group sat huddled in the helicopter, eagerly awaiting their drop zone. The Huey's rotor's chopped noisily through the silence of the night as it flew across the open sea to it's secret destination.

A small clearing was designated as their drop zone and they were to rendezvous back there in 7 hours with the missing Doctor and the Naquadah. It was a fair distance from the rebel camp, but it was the nearest available landing site, and far enough away so as not to be heard. There was something to be said for spy satellites after all, having located the camp and the clearing to which they were now heading. The pitch of the blades changed slightly as they hovered over the rainforest, searching for the clearing. As soon as the pilot spotted it he swooped down and landed, wishing them all good luck and reminding them they only had 7 hours of darkness left.

Jack and his covert army synchronised watches, and checked over their weapons. Jack smiled to himself, happy that if they were captured then nobody would be able to identify any of them as US soldiers. Their weapons were all Black Market stuff, bought from a known terrorist sympathiser. Of course he knew the minute any of them opened their mouths, their nationality would be a dead give-away, but that was something they would have to face if and when the time came.

He signalled the little group forwards into the depths of the jungle with all it's hidden dangers, human and otherwise.

The dark forest was alive with the noise of insects and animals, and the hot humid conditions did nothing to aid their progress. The path was thick with fallen trees, and lianas laced across their route, decorating the jungle like giant cobwebs and looking almost as eerie in the moonlight, had they been just that. Jack hacked his way through the undergrowth, sweat was running down his back and pooling inside the waistband of his pants. The others were in just the same condition, even though they weren't helping to clear the pathway. Jack stopped every now and then to wipe the sweat from his brow as it ran in rivulets down his face and neck. He really hated the jungle, especially at night, where the darkness and noises could mask a multitude of dangers.

The once clear night had now given way to a steady tropical downpour, soaking them through, and they welcomed the coolness the initial rain had brought with it. It was only a brief shower and was over with fairly quickly. Now as the heat rose again, the jungle fairly steamed around them. Three hours after they had stepped into the thick green swathe, Jack called a halt with the first glimpse of the camp through the thinning trees.

Jack donned his night vision goggles and studied the camp, creeping forward to get a better vantage point, hopefully without being spotted by the rebels. The camp was arranged with large tents along one side, obviously these were the mess tents and storage areas, Jack surmised. A smattering of smaller tents were lined up at a 90 degree angle from the larger ones and he could see people sleeping in them, these were evidently the troop's quarters. Swinging round to the right, he saw another tent, slightly apart from the others, and the flap was open. A figure tossed and turned on the cot and as it turned towards him, he saw it was Dr. Cruz. He watched the restless figure for a few moments, and realised by the movements Paul was making, that he was tied or perhaps chained to something on the floor. Ropes were easily dealt with, but chains would be a different matter altogether.

Four sentries walked their paths at random, which would make life a little harder, but nothing his team couldn't handle. He watched them for a while longer before making his way back to the others. Jack quickly outlined the plan and the covert group dispersed to implement their rescue.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you to all who reviewed again…especially – debcole; Froggy; janissima; and Gwill - thanks for the encouragement guys, I certainly need it._

A Tropical Nightmare.

By Lingren.

_Previously: _

Four sentries walked their paths at random, which would make life a little harder, but nothing his team couldn't handle. He watched them for a while longer before making his way back to the others. Jack quickly outlined the plan and the covert group dispersed to implement their rescue.

Chapter 4

Jack and Ferretti crept from their hiding places and rolled under the edge of the canvas. Inside it was dark and they switched on their muted flashlights, careful not to splay the dull beams across the sides of the tent and therefore give themselves away. This was a storage tent, and boxes of ammunition, weapons and explosives sat side by side, along with tins of food and medical supplies. Jack searched through the boxes, noting with a wry smile, that most of the ammunition, was old fashioned and well past it's sell by date; it would make a lovely fireworks display.

Ferretti called to him softly and highlighted a crate near the opening. Jack hurried over to him and they breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Naquadah sitting there. The rebels obviously hadn't managed to persuade Cruz to create a weapon with it just yet. How they had managed to find out about the Naquadah was still something that puzzled both the General and himself, but the enigma would have to wait for now. The fact that it was still sitting unused, was probably thanks to Dr. Cruz. who was the one who had so far resisted the attempts to make him work on it.

Between them Jack and Ferretti managed to divide the material up into two backpacks and carried it back to where they had entered the tent. Making sure the coast was clear, Jack signalled the two beefy soldiers, Andrews and Morgan to relieve them of their burdens, sending them back to the rendezvous point. They would need the extra time because their heavy burdens would weigh them down during the long trek back through the jungle. He knew that he and the rest of the group could take the rebels out. He turned back to the piled stocks. They laid a few blocks of C4 in strategic places, then made their good their escape to wait for the others.

Sam and Daniel crept to the rear of Paul's tent and Sam slit the fabric neatly, making an opening just big enough for them to enter and free the Doctor. Daniel stood guard while Sam held a hand over her friend's mouth, urging him when he woke suddenly, to keep quiet. Paul let out a huge sigh when he realised he was being rescued by SG-1. Sam worked on picking the locks on his chains with a piece of wire, hoping to free him before the sky lit up with Jack's planned fireworks display.

The locks finally clicked open and Sam hauled him from the cot and pushed him from the tent just as the first explosions reverberated round the clearing, illuminating everything within it's circle, as well as the surrounding jungle. The trio ran towards the rendezvous with Jack and Ferretti. Andrews and Morgan with their heavy burdens were already well on their way back to meet up with the Huey.

Just as they flew past Jack's hiding place a shout followed by gunfire erupted behind them, and then the chase was on. Sam led the way dragging Paul with her, and Daniel was pushing him along from behind. Jack and Ferretti were bringing up their sixes, stopping every now and then to open fire on the pursuing rebels. Soft daylight was now penetrating the jungle floor making it easier to see where their path lay, but it also meant that the rebels had them in their sights. Bullets whizzed past their ears and sang through the air, hitting the trees and the dirt around them.

As they neared the clearing, Jack could hear the helicopter's rotors the nearer he got as they chopped noisily through the steamy air. The noises of the jungle night had given way to a period of quiet and the only thing Jack could hear was the rotor's tune, urging them closer.

Sam broke through into the clearing just as Andrew and Morgan had finished loading the Naquadah into the helicopter through the sliding door, they climbed up exhausted with running and carrying the heavy ore. Andrews extended a hand down to their fleeing colleagues. Sam pushed Paul up first then grabbing Andrews' hand she heaved herself up, taking up a position just inside the door to offer covering fire to Jack and Ferretti. The two men had stopped by the edge of the clearing to crouch down behind a fallen tree and were laying down fire to protect the team as they climbed on board.

Weapons fire ricocheted all around them, but Jack and Ferretti stood their ground, giving the others valuable time to jump on the Huey. Sam yelled to him above the raging battle, telling him they were all safe, and Jack signalled for Ferretti to make his move to join them, he too backed up, firing wildly into the bush, hoping to take out at least a few of the enemy firing at them.

At the last minute, he turned and leapt onto the skid just as the helicopter lifted off, but the fiery agony from a bullet bit deep into his thigh, burning its way into his muscle, making him lose his balance. His foot slipped from it's precarious perch and he started to fall. Sam shot out a hand to grab him, but as he fell sideways, he grunted with pain as he hit his head on the metal of the open doorway and his world disappeared into darkness.

Sam had managed to catch his arm, but his dead weight hanging limply above the ground as the helicopter rose, was too much for her tentative grip, and before Ferretti could make a grab for him too, he slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground some 15 feet below them.

"JAAACKKK," she screamed, his name coming more readily to her lips than his rank.

They looked down in horror as he lay crumpled on his side, unconscious. Bleeding from the head wound, as well as his thigh, on the dirt below. Bullets continued to hit the helicopter as it sped away, leaving Jack to the mercy of the irate rebels, despite the efforts of Sam, Daniel and Ferretti to get the pilot to turn back for him. Colonel Lee refused to return, saying it was far too dangerous, and more than likely it would end up with them all getting killed.

From a militarily viewpoint, Sam had to acknowledge that Lee was right, much to her chagrin, knowing deep down that Jack wouldn't have it any other way despite his being left behind. Sam's heart shattered into a million pieces as she continued to stare back towards the clearing long after it disappeared. All she could see in her mind was Jack's limp body as he fell, and the rebels kicking him as he lay on the ground, blood running freely from his wounds.

All the way back to the base Sam kept berating herself. The image of letting him slip from her grasp kept playing over and over in her mind, and she imagined she could hear the sound of his body as it hit the ground; she believed she could actually hear the sigh of his breath as it was forcibly expelled on impact, knowing it must have caused more damage to his already wounded body. She couldn't shut the images away, and tears streamed down her face unchecked, even when Daniel placed his arm round her, offering her comfort, she couldn't respond. It was all her fault; she had let him fall; she had left him behind; and if he should die, she would never forgive herself.

The first thing she did on landing at Hurlburt Field AFB was to call General Hammond. He was pleased that they had managed to rescue Dr. Cruz, and more than grateful they had retrieved the Naquadah, which was now under lock and key and a heavy guard placed to watch over it. It had been a successful mission, but the cost was far too high for any of them, and Sam practically begged him to allow them all to go back for the Colonel.

Hammond let his mind wander over all the times Jack had helped him over the past years, when things had seemed impossibly hopeless, even risking his career to restore his CO to his rightful job when he was blackmailed into resigning. There was no way he could leave Jack behind, not when there was a chance of rescue. General Hammond knew as well as anyone, Jack's policy of never leaving a man behind, and weighing up the prospects of losing one man, a good friend, against perhaps losing two teams. He decided to give Sam permission to return to Santa Christiana and retrieve Jack, but only after they all got some rest and to await the arrival of Janet to accompany them.

OoOoOoOoO

To say Luis Mendoza was very angry, was an understatement. His plans for his revolution had been scuppered by a bunch of mercenaries, who had to be Americans, to rescue Dr. Cruz, and to take back the precious metal ore, he had blackmailed the scientist into stealing. He looked down at the battered body of the man they left behind and glowered. He would have his revenge on this perpetrator. Even as the helicopter flew away, he lashed out with his foot, catching the unconscious man in the chest, though it elicited no response from the inert Colonel. Miguel joined in and several others vented their displeasure onto the limp form. After a while, when Luis realised the punishment was wasted on the senseless individual, he ordered him to be carried back to the camp.

By the time they arrived back at what remained of the camp, the sun had risen higher, and the jungle heat had risen to an all time record. The flames from the explosion were still burning, adding to the stifling heat, and the smell of cordite hung heavy in the air. Luis looked around the ruined camp and issued his orders. Jack was dropped unceremoniously to the ground in the middle of the quadrangle, around which the tents had been erected. He was stripped of his jacket and shirt, then his limbs were spread eagled, fastened tightly to the stakes driven into the ground, leaving him to the mercy of the hot sun to slowly bake his battered body.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks everyone for your reviews, they're much aprreciated._

A Tropical Nightmare.

By Lingren.

_Previously: _

By the time they arrived back at what remained of the camp, the sun had risen higher, and the jungle heat had risen to an all time record. The flames from the explosion were still burning, adding to the stifling heat, and the smell of cordite hung heavy in the air. Luis looked around the ruined camp and issued his orders. Jack was dropped unceremoniously to the ground in the middle of the quadrangle, around which the tents had been erected. He was stripped of his jacket and shirt, then his limbs were spread eagled, fastened tightly to the stakes driven into the ground, leaving him to the mercy of the hot sun to slowly bake his battered body.

Chapter 5

Some time later Jack roused to the intense feeling of his skin burning. A cacophony of pain assaulted him every part of his body when he tried to move. He groaned in agony as fresh waves of it rippled through his wounded thigh, and for some reason he'd yet to fathom out, his shoulder too. His head throbbed mercilessly, and he couldn't bear to open his eyes against the brightness currently shining full onto them.

After the initial pain had muted slightly he tried to think where he was, it certainly wasn't the Infirmary. He recalled being shot, then he hit his head and after that it was anybody's guess. The harsh ground beneath him and the awkward position of his limbs told him there was no way he was in a hospital bed.

He slitted opened his eyes to take a look around, and found himself staked out in the full sun. Lifting his head to look down at his body was something which he found much too difficult to do yet, so instead he used his senses to tell him that he was not in a good position, and that his current state of health was not good either, and not likely to improve in the very near future. When he got back home, Doc was sure to have a fit when she got hold of him.

The realisation that he'd been captured and left to die in the scorching sun, was like an arrow piercing his heart. He couldn't remember being taken prisoner, and wondered where the rest of the team was. He knew without a doubt that Sam would never have left him behind if she'd had a choice, but then, maybe they had all been caught. He could see the rebels milling around the camp like ants, trying to salvage whatever they could from the aftermath of his handiwork.

He tried to look all round for any sign of his team, but every little move of his head caused more pain to lance through it, and his neck. He tried testing his bonds, but any subsequent movement there caused even greater agony to his shoulder, and he couldn't bite back the soft moan it elicited. Mentally trying to withdraw from the pain, he wondered just what had happened to him for it to hurt so much.

A shadow loomed over him, bringing instant relief from the burning sun on his flesh, temporarily shielding his eyes from the brightness, and now as he opened them fully, he saw Luis Mendoza standing over him.

"So...you have awakened at last," Mendoza spoke in English, his Spanish accent thick but still understandable.

"Yeah, but I'm kinda wishing I hadn't."

Mendoza ignored the statement.

"Who are you?"

"Me? Ah...nobody in particular. A friend? Amigo?"

"You are an American," he accused. "Americanos are no friends of ours."

"Now why would that be?" he asked in feigned innocence.

Mendoza chose to ignore his comment again, and got straight to the point.

"Why did you steal our metal?"

"Metal? What metal would that be?"

Mendoza kicked him in the ribs making Jack groan in agony, trying not to move too much knowing it would ultimately bring greater pain if he did.

"Oh...you mean that metal. The metal you stole from us," he countered when he could draw breath again.

"Do not think I am stupid, Amigo, I know you are from Cheyenne Mountain. Who else would dare to rescue one of it's own?"

"Well if you knew that, why'd you ask?"

"Confirmation of your involvement with our Government to put down the revolution," Luis drawled.

"Yeah? Like that'll happen anytime soon."

"You are working with our Government."

"Not a hope."

Again Jack was kicked, this time on his open thigh wound, making him suck in a sharp breath, and turning the world around him into a hazy fog. He blinked rapidly trying to clear his sight again, mentally shaking his thoughts back together.

"You are in league with Ramirez. Admit it," he yelled, getting angrier.

"No way. Can't admit to something that's not true."

"Liar. You shall receive your just rewards for your insolence."

This time Luis nodded to Miguel and walked away, leaving his friend to mete out Jack's punishment. By the time the rebel had finished Jack was once again unconscious, the pain too much for his fragile body to bear any longer, and he'd welcomed the darkness with open arms.

Night came slowly and Jack lay unmoving, still tied to the ground. His throat almost closing as his tongue, swollen from the lack of moisture, felt thick and threatened to choke him with it's very dryness. The heat of the day had disappeared and with the darkness came the chill from the night air. He shivered now, and although he revelled in the cool air at first, he now desperately needed some protection against it.

His limbs were burning with cramp and he longed to be able to move them and ease the stiffened joints. He lay trying to concentrate on the stars above him, wondering which team was out among them tonight, and if they were gazing up at the millions of sparkling lights in the night sky and thinking of home. Home was where he wanted to be right now, and he let his mind drift away from the need of material comfort, to thoughts about Sam.

How her smile always lit up her eyes, and made him feel as light as a feather when it was aimed just at him. Sam, who had breezed into his life like a whirlwind and taken over his thoughts, pushing the agony of the recent past into a new perspective. It was not until Daniel's death and subsequent ascension, that they had both come to realise that it could so easily have been one of them who'd died, and it made them finally taken the plunge and admit their true feelings for each other.

Freely confessing their love and actually doing something about it, had been the best thing they could have done. With good friends to help them, they had managed to keep their relationship a secret so far. If their fraternisation was discovered, then it would spell the end for both of them. He conjured up the imagine of running his fingers through her golden hair when they were together. The smoothness of her pale skin, so warm and soft beneath his touch; her sparkling blue eyes so full of love, and for him only. Now he wondered what Sam was doing right this minute. He knew with a certainty that if she could, she would return for him if it was at all possible.

The splash of water hitting him brought his mind right back to his current predicament. He opened his eye to find that it was raining. A warm rain was washing him down, cleansing his bloodied and dust covered body. It was the heavy kind of rain only found in a tropical rain forest, and within minutes he was lying saturated in a muddy puddle, shivering worse than before.

The only consolation he had, was that now he could open his mouth and take in some of the moisture, helping to quench his raging thirst. He choked over it at first, but kept gulping down the precious commodity. The rain didn't last very long, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mendoza laughing at his antics as he tried to drink the rain.

The clouds rolled by and once more the stars came out, and Jack drifted off into a restless sleep again.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you sweet readers for your reviews...keep 'em coming...pretty please!_

A Tropical Nightmare.

By Lingren.

_Previously: _

The only consolation he had, was that now he could open his mouth and take in some of the moisture, helping to quench his raging thirst. He choked over it at first, but kept gulping down the precious commodity. The rain didn't last very long, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mendoza laughing at his antics as he tried to drink the rain.

The clouds rolled by and once more the stars came out, and Jack drifted off into a restless sleep again.

Chapter 6

The sound of a helicopter drawing nearer, alerted Mendoza that the American's were coming in to rescue his prisoner, and he ordered his men out to shoot it down. Suddenly it swept over the tops of the trees, firing tear gas into the camp, which was immediately engulfed in a thick fog of choking smoke. Gunfire still echoed through the camp and suddenly Mendoza's men found themselves under heavy fire, with explosions around them. Those that could manage it, fled into the jungle, leaving Mendoza without protection. He himself took off somewhere to hide from the battle, leaving the SGC personnel with nothing to do except guard their injured Colonel.

Jack had felt the effects from the gas too, but he knew as soon as he heard the rotor blades sweeping through the air, that rescue was finally here. The Huey had hovered above him; the down draught effectively clearing the gas from around him, but he was already choking on it, and the tears were streaming down his face, and with the downdraught of hot air from the rotors, it was making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

The next thing he knew a soft distorted voice was yelling in his ear, telling him, to relax and allow them to cut him free. He nodded carefully, not wanting to aggravate his headache and unable to talk or see through the stinging eyes and throat. He felt a mask being placed over his face and he welcomed the feel of the cool oxygen flooding his lungs, easing away the pain, and then he felt his bonds being released. The relief of being free was tempered by the pain of stiffened limbs.

Sam knelt down beside her CO and knew at once he'd been left like this since his capture, for his body to be in such a poor state. It made her heart bleed to see him like this, but even more determined that they got him out quickly. Daniel appeared beside her with a wire basket stretcher and with Andrews' help they managed to manoeuvre Jack into it.

He'd been aware of their presence, but it was obvious to her now that he was in extreme pain when they'd moved him. She'd watched as his eyes rolled back in his head when he passed out from the agony of moving his cramping muscles and any injuries he might have received in the fall.

She was glad he'd given in, because in a way, it made moving him so much easier now. Soon they had him covered up and they carried him off to one side while the helicopter landed in the deserted camp, making access easier. Jack's team hauled the stretcher into the Huey, followed by the rest of the little band of rescuers. Once they were all on board they took off, leaving the camp in chaos, leaving behind very little of the rebel fighters as they disappeared once more into the night sky.

OoOoOoOoO

Janet could barely move in the cramped confines of the helicopter, but she somehow managed to kneel down beside her patient and assess his condition. His blood pressure was low, and she could see he'd lost quite a bit of blood. Quickly inserting an IV needle into his vein, she hooked up the fluids and blood bags she'd brought with her. Jack's heart rate was rapid, and his breathing shallow and noisy. Running her professional fingers over his torso, she discovered a couple of broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and plenty of bruising.

His skin was burned and blistered from lying exposed to the sun, and although the bullet wound had stopped bleeding, it was now infected and oozed pus. The red lines radiating from it showing her that he would need a lot of nursing to get him back to being healthy once again. Janet did all she could for him on the flight, but a proper full examination would have to wait until they reached the base hospital.

A gurney and several medical personnel were standing by when they landed and they off loaded Jack onto the trolley and rushed him away to the ER. Sam watched as they hurried away, lost in a daze of guilt and horror at what they had done to her CO; the man she loved. Would he still love her, knowing she alone had been responsible for letting him fall? Would he blame her for leaving him behind, breaking his one golden rule; how could he not when he discovered the truth about what had happened?

Daniel placed his arm around her shoulder and urged her forward to follow the emergency team. She automatically moved following his lead, although in spirit, she was elsewhere. The tears no longer fell, she'd already cried them all out, now only the guilt hung heavily on her shoulders and she hated herself for putting him though hell. She would go through the motions of making sure he was going to be all right, but after that she would leave him alone to lick his wounds, unable to face his accusations when he recovered.

Sam and Daniel sat outside the ER in silence. They were supplied with coffee by a kind nurse who took pity on them when she'd seen the state of them all. By the blank look on their faces from shock and the obvious hurt from knowing that their friend had been badly injured, she felt they needed a little TLC to recover too.

It seemed like hours before Janet emerged and Daniel shot from the chair, almost pouncing on her as she emerged from the double doors that had kept them out.

"Janet?"

"Well as far as I can tell, he'll be just fine, but it's going to be a long time before he's really fit again, but he's a fighter guys, you know that."

"What did they do to him? He's a mess!" Daniel asked, still shocked by Jack's appearance.

"Well apart from the obvious bullet wound he'd received in the original battle, and the head wound, which is fine by the way; he has two broken ribs, and a hell of al lot of bruises just about everywhere you can imagine. Then there's the dislocated shoulder which has a piece of bone chipped out of it, and that's gonna hurt; a lot. The damage was probably caused when he fell from the helicopter. The worst thing right now is the fever which has set in from the infection in his leg around the bullet wound, and he has severe sun burn over his face and upper body. He's dehydrated, but it's nothing too drastic that we can't easily fix. I want to get him back to the SGC as soon as possible so I can keep a proper eye on him."

"Can we see him?" Daniel asked, worried for his friend.

"Sure, but he's sedated and will be out of it for some time. I'm going to arrange for transport back to Peterson for tomorrow afternoon.

OoOoOoOoO

General Hammond had done a lot of digging in his time, but now it was revealed to be real dirt he was delving into. His contacts in Washington had come up trumps and provided him with proof of more dirty dealings concerning the late Colonel Frank Simmons from his days as one of the NID's top brass operatives. It was revealed that Simmons and Mendoza were old acquaintances. Their connections stretched back over two decades, but their last encounter was as recent as two years ago, not long before Simmons had been arrested.

At that time Mendoza was just starting out on his quest for a revolution and funds and equipment was hard to come by. Suddenly it had been reported he'd acquired a lot of arms and the money to buy more modern ones. Gradually building up his army, he spent months training new recruits until they were ready for the battle to begin, ending with the piecè de résistance, the final strike. A bomb made from a new material promised to him by his American friend to wipe out the entire Government in one go.

When Simmons mysteriously disappeared, Mendoza planned to steal it himself, finally settling on Blackmail. Dr. Paul Cruz, an exile from the island and one time employee of Mendoza, was chosen not only because of his work with the new powerful ore, but because Mendoza could threaten the rest of the Cruz family that were left behind on the island.

Hammond now made contact with an old friend who owed him a favour and agreed to sanction a mission for him. While Mendoza was still reeling from the blow to his army and his ego, a team of Spanish Americans would enter Santa Christiana posing as fishermen, and rescue Dr. Cruz' family, taking them across the sea to freedom and a reunion with their Son and brother. A new identity would then be given to all of them in a new location, and a new job awaited Paul, all of which would put them out of Mendoza's reach. Hammond would miss the affable scientist, but the man's family and safety came first. Nothing was worth risking their lives for, just for an unpopular revolution that had been doomed to fail from the start.

General Hammond sat in his office, his arms leaning on the desk and fingers entwined in a loose grip together, a smile across his face. He was satisfied with the results of his labours, and now all he wanted was the phone to ring and tell him his teams had arrived home, and that Jack was going to be okay.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks to everyone who read this and supported me throughout with their reviews. I really did appreciate them. Thank you all._

_Here's the last chapter, hope you all enjoy it._

A Tropical Nightmare.

By Lingren.

_Previously: _

General Hammond sat in his office, his arms leaning on the desk and fingers entwined in a loose grip together, a smile across his face. He was satisfied with the results of his labours, and now all he wanted was the phone to ring and tell him his teams had arrived home, and that Jack was going to be okay.

Chapter 7

Both Sam and Daniel took turns in sitting with Jack, mopping his fever ridden brow when his temperature rose, and holding his hand when he grew restless, stilling him with their cool touch on his heated flesh. Teal'c would stand like a sentinel at the foot of his bed, just watching in silence as his friend slowly recovered.

The three team-mates watched over their Commanding Officer for the next few days, until his fever broke and he became aware of his surroundings.

Jack sensed the presence of Daniel, long before he could force his eyes open to see him for himself. Daniel was reading aloud from some dry and dusty old book on archaeology, and Jack fought to gain full consciousness if only to shut Daniel's persistent droning out from his muzzy head. Daniel was totally unaware of the struggle going on by his friend, and only realised Jack was awake when he heard his croaky voice.

"Daniel. So help me if you don't..."

"Jack. You're awake."

"Yeah, no thanks to you. Geesh Daniel, couldn't you have chosen something a little less..."

"Dry? Sure, but I had to get you to wake up somehow. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist telling me to shut up."

Jack blew out an exasperated breath.

"Where are the others? Carter? Teal'c?" he asked, needing to know if they were okay.

"Sam is working in her lab, and Teal'c is down in the gym."

"What the hell happened anyway?"

"You got shot..."

"Yeah...I remember that bit and I hit my head, so why is it I hurt everywhere?"

"You knocked yourself out, and then fell from the helicopter. Sam tried to save you but you were too heavy for her, so you fell about 15 feet to the ground. Janet thinks that's when you dislocated your shoulder, she says you chipped a piece off the bone too."

"Ouch...I knew it had to hurt for some reason."

"Colonel Lee refused to return for you. We tried to get him to go back for you Jack, but he wouldn't turn round."

"Rightly so too. It was too dangerous Daniel. You could've all been killed or at least captured. It wasn't worth the risk and he was right to refuse."

"What happened to...'no-one gets left behind?' That includes you Jack."

"I would have done the same if the situation had been reversed Daniel. It was too great a risk. It was important to get Dr. Cruz and the Naquadah out of there," Jack sighed patiently, then reached out with his hand and touched Daniel's arm. "Thanks for coming back anyway."

"You know darn well we'd never have left you there."

"I didn't believe for one minute that you would. How long ago was that exactly? I don't remember much about it."

"You've had a high fever Colonel," Janet's voice interrupted them, now she could hear he was awake. "We brought you home just on a week ago."

"Doc. Really? A week, huh?"

"How do you feel Colonel?"

"Ever been run over by a semi-truck and then toasted?"

"No."

"Well, there ya go!"

"So...you have experienced that before then? so you know what it feels like do you?"

"No, but you get the idea right?"

Janet grinned down at him.

"I think I understand Colonel," she said as she busied herself checking him over while Daniel made excuses to go and tell the other members of SG-1 that their friend was now awake.

At least, he was. When Daniel returned with Teal'c, Jack was asleep again. Sam had made her excuses, saying she'd pop by later.

OoOoOoOoO

Jack's recovery was typical for him. A rapid step from really sick to driving the petite Doctor and her staff up the wall with his constant whining to be released from her domain. It was still too soon of course, and Janet refused to be baited into letting him go home just yet. Daniel and Teal'c came everyday and sometimes spent all day with him, trying to occupy his mind and keep Janet from strangling him. Through all the days of his recovery though, Sam had only put in an appearance once, just after he'd initially woken up; but he was sleeping when she did finally turn up to see him. It was a fleeting visit, if only to make sure he was doing okay.

Jack had not actually seen her, or recall seeing her, since the rescue and it worried the hell out of him. Then when Daniel or Teal'c apologised to him for her absence, he knew they'd felt embarrassed by her excuses as if they themselves were guilty too. He knew he would have to go find her and make her see that her guilt was misplaced if their relationship was to survive. He explained everything to Janet using her friendship with Sam to extract a promise that it came under patient confidentiality, and so she gave him permission to wander round the base looking for her, but with strict instructions to be back again in an hour or so, and not to tire himself out.

He sought her in her lab; he looked in the locker room; he scanned the crowd in the commissary; he poked his head round the door to the gym; he searched everywhere he thought she might be, but to no avail, then he recalled what she'd said about escaping the SGC for a moment or two of quiet when things got too hectic, so he made his way to the elevator and rode it to the surface, feeling weaker than he would like to admit.

Jack knew where she would be hiding, but he hesitated slightly, wondered what sort of reception he would get when he found her. The elevator deposited him topside, and he made his way up the well worn path by the side of the mountain, and up into the trees to the clearing beyond the security camera's range.

By the time he could see her sitting quietly beneath the tree, staring out over the city below, his limp had worsened, and he felt everyone of those bruises and still healing ribs. He stood leaning against a tree to catch his breath, watching her for several moments just resting momentarily before he faced her, not wanting her to feel more guilt at his weakness.

When he'd recovered his breath and his legs weren't shaking quite so much, he pushed himself away from the roughened bark and stepped from the undergrowth, approaching her noisily making sure to snap a twig or two so as not to startle her too much.

Sam turned at the sound of snapping twigs and leapt to her feet, shyly avoiding his eyes.

"Sir...J..Janet's released you already?" she stammered.

"It's only temporary. If I'm not back in an hour she'll set the bloodhounds after me."

"I can't believe you talked her into this..."

"Compassionate leave. Doctor's orders."

"So what brings you up here sir?"

"You."

"Me?" she whispered with a strangled cry, not sure whether she was ready to face his wrath just yet.

"You've been avoiding me Carter, and I'd kinda like to know why?"

"I've been busy," she excused herself, turning away and wrapping her arms around her chest in a classic guilty pose.

"You could at least look me in the eye when you lie to me," he sighed, limping round to face her again.

"It's not a lie," she countered half-heartedly, cross and yet guilty at his accusation.

"It's not exactly the truth either, is it Sam?"

She looked down at her feet, trying to avoid looking into his dark piercing eyes.

"The truth is that you blame yourself, and you can't bear to think that I blame you too."

She did look up at him then, and he knew he'd hit the nail right on the head.

"Sam, I don't blame you. I knew you wouldn't leave me behind if you could help it." He took a few steps nearer, and could now see the tears as they welled up behind her eyes. "Sam, please don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. It was just one of those things. I wasfar too heavy, a dead weight, for you to hold onto. It could just as easily have been Ferretti, or Andrews, or even Daniel, or worse...it could have been you. I dread to think what those rebels would have done to you for revenge. I'm glad it was me, that way I at least knew you were safe." He reached out to cup her cheek tenderly, his dark eyes softening with love. "I'd have died if anything had happened to you, you know that don't you Sam. You mean everything to me."

"Oh God Jack. I tried to hold on to you. I just couldn't..." she cried, her voice breaking, turning her puppy dog eyes to meet his. "I did try to get the pilot to turn back for you," she sobbed, the tears streaking down her face now, unchecked.

"No. He had a duty to get Cruz, the Naquadah, and all of you back safely. I would have done the same thing. But... and here's the clincher... you did come back for me Sam, and that's all that really counts. I never gave up the hope that you would show up. I know you. I trained you well." He wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb, gently running his fingers down her cheek, following the flow. "I don't blame you for dropping me. Hell I'm no lightweight. I know you did your best out there, and I'm proud of you Sam. I trusted in you then and I trust in you now, so let it go. Forget it; it's over. I'm okay, at least I will be soon, and I'm here. Right here for you."

She looked into his eyes, searching his soul, studying his face to see if he really did forgive her.

"I also love you...very much Samantha Carter, and so help me if you don't stop this nonsense, I am so gonna..."

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she giggled, and he saw her smile for the first time since the beginning of the mission. He pulled her chin up now so their eyes would meet. Looking deep into the blue depths, he saw the guilt and remorse behind the tears. His heart went out to her and he pulled her into an awkward embrace, encumbered as he was with his left arm still strapped across his chest. Sam responded by wrapping her arms around his waist, and clinging to him like there would be no tomorrow, losing herself in his total absolution.

"I'm so, so sorry Jack," she whispered, burying her face in his right shoulder. "I love you so much. I just didn't know what to do. I thought you'd hate me for letting you slip away and then leaving you there."

"Hey...it's okay. I could never hate you Sam, and there's nothing to be sorry about. I'm home now, I'll get over it. It's all over now. I'll be fine, and...more importantly, we'll be okay. Won't we?"

She nodded into his body and he kissed the top of her head, pulling her even closer to him. Guilt could eat away at even the hardiest of souls, and there was no need for her to feel guilty over anything she'd done, he wouldn't allow her to dwell on it any more. It was over and done with; it was history now. All in the past, just another chapter in their book of life and it would make them both stronger in the future. A future of being together, bound in a deep love, that nothing could tear asunder, no matter how hard fate tried.

The End.


End file.
